addicted to bread, is that possible?
Posted Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 2:16 AM

I'm finding lately bread seems to be a very dangerous item for me! even 'healthy' or whole-wheat, white-wheat, you name it, i'm always craving! I justify it to myself by saying 'well, all this bread IS vegan after all...'

I had not had bread in maybe over a week...and I have this vegan 'butter' which is Smart Balance. However I think this combination of any kind of bread-butter is all too easy to over-eat, and then, I wound up with a stomach-ache.

maybe the 'butter' still has some oils or too much fat that is too rich on the digestion?

Anyway, if anyone has ideas on how to make say, single serving bread from scratch, maybe using some basic rice or baking flour, that would be great! And tips on how to flavor bread without buttery spreads?

RE: addicted to bread, is that possible?
Posted Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 1:28 PM

Try looking for a recipe for freezer biscuits - basically, you make a big batch of biscuits - make the dough, roll it out, cut it. But then you freeze them. Pull out one or two (depending on how big you make them) and bake when you want to use them - also good for drop in company, throw on a pot of pasta, some good tomato sauce and pop half a dozen in the oven and you've got a nice 'guests for dinner' meal in about 20 minutes.--DebR

RE: addicted to bread, is that possible?
Posted Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 3:10 PM

Sister Schubert's wheat rolls in the freezer section are good to have on hand. You can throw just a few in the oven when you want them. The wheat rolls are 4 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber. The pretzel rolls are 2 grams of fat and 1 gram of fiber.

RE: addicted to bread, is that possible?
Posted Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at 4:54 PM

deborahjm wrote:

Sister Schubert's wheat rolls in the freezer section are good to have on hand. You can throw just a few in the oven when you want them. The wheat rolls are 4 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber. The pretzel rolls are 2 grams of fat and 1 gram of fiber.

Check the ingredients - they contain hydrogenated fat, eggs and whey (dairy) - not vegan and not particularly a good choice in general

RE: addicted to bread, is that possible?
Posted Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 2:18 PM

I've read all the posts in this thread very thoroughly and I think what everyone's saying in their own way is that there's no such thing as being addicted to bread. It's like saying you're addicted to water. Or oxygen. It can't be an addiction because these things are not optional, they're an essential part of life, and if you try to cut them out you simply won't feel right.

RE: addicted to bread, is that possible?
Posted Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 4:02 PM

theodore wrote:

I've read all the posts in this thread very thoroughly and I think what everyone's saying in their own way is that there's no such thing as being addicted to bread. It's like saying you're addicted to water. Or oxygen. It can't be an addiction because these things are not optional, they're an essential part of life, and if you try to cut them out you simply won't feel right.

And FWIW I totally agree with this.

You can however crave specific ingredients in a product or crave something about a product. For instance, with bread (since that's the subject), one might not be getting enough calories overall and so have a craving for readily accessible calorie/carb sources. One might crave ice cream but it might be the cold, the creamy texture, a particular flavor that has positive associations (favorite auntie always bought pistachio, so when one wants comfort, one gets pistachio ice cream cravings). Craving chips might be the salt. And so on. By looking at the components and what it is that you want from a thing, you can often find a sub that meets that need in a better way.

RE: addicted to bread, is that possible?
Posted Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 8:07 PM

Bugsmom wrote:

however

There's no however about it, Deb. It's simply not correct to say that someone's addicted to bread. It's a need, not an addiction. If you try and cut it out of your life you're just spelling disaster for yourself. I tried it a couple of years ago and I spent almost all day eating and grocery shopping and thinking about food.

Admittedly that was the time when I came up with some of my most entrancing dance moves. But that's not because the bread had been keeping me down, it's because I was in such a desperate state of mind I basically thought that if I danced hard enough I'd eventually blackout and lose all memory of that sick idea of giving up bread. I guess the irony is that a lot of people became addicted to my dancing. But I don't see any problem with that, as long as those people can still function in their daily lives and respect my privacy.

Bugsmom wrote:

but

There's no buts about it, Deb. And please don't interrupt me when I'm talking by the way. The fact is you simply cannot compare bread to things like ice cream or chips. Ice cream is a high fat high sugar non-wholefood with almost zero fibre. And chips are a fried product. Frying something can definitely make it addictive. Fried bread would be addictive. Bread made with cocaine would be addictive. But it's not the bread that people would be addicted to. It's the additives. Or the friedness. The kind of bread I'm talking about is just the basic honest kind of bread.

RE: addicted to bread, is that possible?
Posted Friday, December 20, 2013 at 11:47 AM

I gave up wheat over a year ago, and I DREAMED about bread for 3 days. Maybe I missed the texture - who knows? That aside, all breads whether they are whole wheat or not have a fairly high glycemic index, and those folks who are trying to lose weight are well advised to eat WHOLE grains. There is a world of difference between the actual whole grain and the grain round up into flour. Wheat whole grain is the wheatberry. Then there are oats, corn kernels, quinoa, brown rice, millet.

RE: addicted to bread, is that possible?
Posted Friday, December 20, 2013 at 3:55 PM

this is all so helpful. you guys are really wonderful with your insight and help!

i'm sorry, I didn't mean to be THAT typical 'girl' lol who complains about carbs or breads, things like that. I assure you it's not the worry of weight gain. I just have been, realizing throughout this month as I try to be vegan, that there are some strong bread cravings and I hate that feeling of 'omg I have to eat my bread!'

but Theo I agree, if the bread is unprocessed and natural, like with corn tortillas that consist of only corn, or other bread that consists of only say 3 ingredients, then it's surely not as addictive, that is only my guess.

and I am learning that it IS indeed possible to live without bread. again it's more the psychology of craving that I am trying to conquer!!